The Summer Wind by Mary Alice Monroe

Summertime and the living is not easy in Charleston with humility, heat, and flying bugs as Marietta Muir (Mamaw) works on a needlepoint project on the front porch of Sea Breeze thinking of her granddaughters Dora, Carson, and Harper. They are coming soon to visit for the summer at Mamaw’s house called the Sea Breeze that will go on the real estate market in the fall and she will move into a senior citizen facility because she can no longer handle the maintenance of the island estate alone. Mamaw believes it will be the perfect opportunity for her granddaughters to reconnect with one another closing the distant feelings among them.

Dora and her husband Calhoun are in the middle of a tumultuous divorce proceeding causing extreme tension regarding Dora’s expensive family heirlooms that she refuse to include as communal property as they agreed before being married. Carson is unemployed and happy to stay at Sea Breeze for the summer until a Delphine the dolphin saves her life from a shark attack while swimming in the cove but later injured in tangled fish lines unintentionally left by her nephew Nate and learns of a situation that may possibly change her life forever. Harper is the youngest of the three sisters and is not bothered with the fact she has no steady companionship because she believes most men date her to get close to the money she has and in addition to the inheritance, her mother will leave. As Dora, Carson, and Harper converge on Sea Breeze for one final summer, each of the three sisters will confront a special personal battle causing them to lean on one another while arriving at decisions that will be life changing.

This novel engrosses relatable topics with the reader such as self-worth, family relationships, divorce, and children with special needs that many may very well compare to their own personal circumstances. I recommend reading to booklovers of relationship stories re-establishing family bonds, re- determining a person’s self worth, and coping with special needs children.

I received this book free from the Net Galley reviewer program for an unbiased opinion in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines.